Don't know what to do with company pension

G

Ghost

Guest
I've been working with a company for 4 years. I paid 5% of my salary (~e25pw) into the company pension (Canadalife) and my company also paid 5%. Now that I've left, I wondering what can I do with that. Can I just leave it there until I retire? Or can I transfer it to a new (PRSA) pension?

The company I'm working with now are a very small company (3 employee family based company) and I get paid a net wage every week. I don't get any wageslip or anything. I'm abit worried there too that If I started a new pension that I wouldn't get the tax breaks I'm entitled to.

I know very very little about pensions, and am very discouraged to have used the pension calculator at [broken link removed]


I would only receive Estimated Private Pension at age 65 €8,200 (65%) when I retire.
I hope someone can help me out here.
 
When you leave pensionable employment you generally have several options:

(1) Leave your fund invested in the existing company scheme where it will (hopefully) continue to attract growth.

(2) Transfer to another employer's occupational scheme. This can be done even if (1) was initially chosen.

(3) Transfer your fund to a buy out bond - which is effectively a standalone pension fund controlled by you alone and not linked to any occupational scheme:



(4) Cash it in by obtaining a refund of your own personal/AVC contributions after deduction of tax. This only applies if you have been in the scheme less than two years. After two years your contributions and those of your employer are "locked in".

(5) Transfer to a PRSA although I'm not sure if (m)any providers are facilitating this at the moment.

When you leave you should be notified in writing of your options in this respect.

Whether or not transferring from the old scheme to elsewhere (another occupational scheme, buy out bond, PRSA etc.) is a good idea may depend on factors such as charges levied to do so, charges levied on an ongoing basis by the different schemes, ease of administration, choice of funds, flexibility etc.

> I would only receive Estimated Private Pension at age 65 €8,200 (65%) when I retire.

This may be based on your pension savings to date. If you are not on course to reach your target retirement fund then you may need to review your plans and perhaps start putting more money by on an ongoing basis. Note that such projections may involve assumptions about growth, inflation, indexation of contributions etc. which may not actually happen!

The Pensions Board is a good resource for general information about pensions. There are lots of interesting discussions here in this forum too if you browse back through them. Brendan seems to be collating a list of key posts lately too:



If you are still confused about this stuff or not clear on the best course of action for your personal situation then you might be better off consulting with a professional, independent advisor:
 
As far as I am aware if employer is paying your taxes , you should get a payslip with your pay . Also you should get P60 every year.
As far as I know this is a legal requirement
 
> As far as I am aware if employer is paying your taxes , you should get a payslip with your pay . Also you should get P60 every year. As far as I know this is a legal requirement

I missed that part of the original query. Yes - payslips and P60s as well as a P45 on leaving are statutory legal obligations/entitlements. Anybody who is not getting these as a matter of course urgently needs to address the situation. These are very important documents and allow the individual to keep track of payments, deductions, tax etc. and to ensure that their financial and tax affairs are kept up to date (as is the individual's responsibility). These links might be of assistance:


www.entemp.ie/
 
pension

Thank you very much for replies. You have been extremely helpful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top